Apparatus for impregnating and coating fibrous strands

ABSTRACT

Strands of textile filaments are impregnated and coated with a liquid material by passing each strand through an immersion bath and in contact with a resiliently compressible and absorptive material which wipes off excess impregnant and coating from the strand. The path and tension of the strand is adjustable to vary the depth at which the strand is embedded into the absorptive material. The absorptive material is in the form of an endless surface constantly rotating to continuously present an unsaturated portion to the strand.

United States Patent 1 Benson et al.

[ Dec. 18, 1973 1 1 APPARATUS FOR IMPREGNATING AND COATING FIBROUSSTRANDS [75] Inventors: Gustav E. Benson, Edgewood; Paul D. Yakuboff,Woonsocket, both of R].

[73] Assignee: Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation, Toledo, Ohio [22]Filed: Aug. 12, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 171,252

[52] US. Cl. 118/109, 28/28 [51] Int. Cl B05c 11/02, D060 29/00 [58]Field of Search 118/68, 109; 28/28 [56] References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 1,968,687 Johnson 118/109 Roclcoff 28/28 Wagner et al. 118/68Primary ExaminerLouis K. Rimrodt Attorney-Carl G. Staelin et al.

57 ABSTRACT 15 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures APPARATUS FOR IMPREGNATING ANDCOATING FIBROUS STRANDS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The presentinvention relates generally to the con- 5 trolled application of acoating or impregnant to strands of textile filaments or other finelyelongated materials. For economical and technical reasons, producers oftreated fibrous strands have constantly sought to maintain a high degreeof impregnation uni- I formity while simultaneously achieving completepermeation. Conventional fixed dies consisting of a small circularorifice in a hard metallic structure and employed to strip excessimpregnant from moving fibrous strands have provided reasonably accurateand uniform control over the process, but from a manufacturing viewpointthe standard die system has several disadvantages. The most significantdisadvantage stems from the inability of the system to function for longperiods of operation without clogging. For example, the throat of thedie orifice tends to accumulate a residue of dried impregnant as well astrap other solid particles such as strand fuzz and the like. These trashdeposits constrict orifice diameter and account for a high incidence ofstrand breakage and poor impregnation quality.

Furthermore, present high production speeds coupled with the naturalabrasiveness of fibrous materials, glass fibers in particular, havedrastically reduced the life span of even the most durable dies.Replacement of worn or defective dies naturally require numerous processinterruptions. These interruptions and those necessarily incurred forinstallation of different die sets for the purpose of changing productspecification may be prohibitive in regard to maintaining desirableoperating efficiencies.

In view of the limitations and soaring replacement costs of fixed dies,including resultant declines in operating efficiencies, it becomesapparent that this method of controlling fibrous strand coating andimpregnation is no longer economically favorable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, it has beendiscovered that a resiliently compressible material may be utilized toeliminate many objectionable features of strand wiping system employingfixed dies without destroying desirable attributes. The resilientlycompressible material is provided by an absorptive sponge in a designhaving an endless surface, such as a cylinder or an endless belt. Theimpregnated or coated strandis passed across the sponge in a path whichat least partially embeds the strand into the sponge. Thus, at oneextreme the strand is completely surrounded by the sponge, and at theother extreme, the sponge only contacts one side of the strand.

As the strand passes in contact with the sponge, excess impregnant iswiped from the strand and absorbed by the sponge. The sponge can berotated to move the impregnant-saturated portion of the sponge away fromthe strand contact zone. At another location remote from the strandcontact zone the impregnant-saturated portion of the sponge is squeezedto remove the absorbed impregnant. This invention includes variationswhich are further described in the Description of Exemplary Embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a side elevation in partialsection of aglass strand impregnation and coating production line whichincludes the impregnation apparatus of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the production line shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation in partial section of this invention shown inFIG. 1 with modifications featuring 0 two sponge rolls mounted in tandemand a nozzle spraying liquid onto the last sponge roll.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation in partial section of this in vention shownin FIG. 1 with a further modification featuring an endless spongecovered belt replacing the roll.

FIG. 5 is a section view of an impregnated glass strand passing over thesponge roll of this invention and illustrating one method of removingexcess impregnant from the strand FIG. 6 is a section view of animpregnated glass strand passing over the sponge roll of this inventionand illustrating a second method of removing excess impregnant from thestrand.

FIG. 7 is a section view of an impregnated glass strand passing over thesponge roll of this invention and illustrating a third method ofremoving excess impregnant from the strand.

FIG. 8 is a section view of a modified sponge roll to be used in thisinvention.

FIG. 9 is an end view of the modified sponge roll shown in FIG. 8.

A DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings,FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show more specifically a production operation whereinlinear materials in the form of fibrous strands 15 are pulled frompackages 11 through tension controlling devices 13. The strands are thenguided by grooved surfaces or pulleys 17, 23 and 27- through a reservoirof impregnating medium 21 which is held in a vat 19. The strands 25,having an excess of impregnant, are then guided across the spongesurface 31 of a revolving drum 29 where the excess impregnant isremoved. Ultimately, the strands 37, having the desired amount ofimpregnant on them, are passed through a curing oven 39 and wound into apackage 47 by a standard winding device 52. The initial thread-up of theproduction line is manually accomplished, but thereafter, strand movingforces are supplied entirely'by the winding device.

To more specifically describe the production process, reference is firstmade to the strands 15 of unimpregnated fibers. By way of example, theimpregnation process shall be described for glass fibers, but the sameprocess would apply for any type of textile filaments in a strand. Theterm strand is used here to mean a primary bundle of continuousfilaments combined in a single compact unit without twist as well as abundle of twisted continuous or staple filaments. It also is used hereto means plied bundles of twisted or untwisted filaments. The diameterof the filaments may vary in size, but must be small enough to beflexible. The number of filaments in the strand may also vary. However,a strand having a very small number of filaments becomes impractical tohandle. On the other hand, it would be difficult to completelyimpregnate a strand having a very large number of filaments. It is notknown what maximum number of filaments in one strand can be completelyimpregnated in the impregnation line of this invention, but it isthought that as many as two thousand filaments in one bundle can besatisfactorily impregnated in the apparatus of this invention. Anexample of a strand satisfactorily impregnated in the apparatus of thisinvention is one of continuous fiber glass filaments containing 408filaments with an average diameter for each filament of 0.00036 inchesand the strand having one-half twist per inch.

As may be seen in FIG. 2, grooved surfaces 17, 23 and 27 are laterallydisposed in spaced aligned relationship to thereby separately guide thestrands in parallel fashion through the impregnating bath 21. In passingthrough the bath, strands are saturated with the impregnant material togenerously coat the outer surface of the composite strand as well aseach individual filament. To achieve complete penetration and coating,the strands 15 are subjected to the impregnant long enough to accomplishthe viscous work necessary in overcoming the influence of variables suchas mechanical and chemical cohesiveness of the individual filaments andthe impregnant. For the purpose of illustra tion, the impregnantmaterial 21 is exemplified by an elastomeric dispersion. Other coatingmaterials including an aqueous or non-aqueous solution of a film formingcomposition or a hot melt or a solvent free material which is liquid atroom temperature but which may be hardened by a subsequent chemical orthermal condition may be applied equally as well by using the techniquesof this invention. Desirable but optional additives such as pigments,dyes, plasticizers, emulsifiers, lubricants and coupling agents may alsobe added. The terms impregnant and impregnation are used here to referalso to coating material and coating.

Emerging from the impregnant bath 21, the strands 25 have moreimpregnant on them than is desired in the final impregnated strand. Theexcessively impregnated strand is guided horizontally across the spongesurface 31 of revolving drum 29 where the excess impregnant is removedfrom the strand and absorbed by the sponge 31. The wetted sponge isrevolved by a hard-surface roll 33 which squeezes out most of theimpregnant from the sponge. The impregnant 35 squeezed from the spongeflows back into the vat l9 and again becomes part of the impregnantreservoir 21.

The sponge covered drum 29 is rotatably mounted above squeeze roll 33.It has been found advantageous to mount the shaft of the drum 29 looselyin vertical slots. The vertical positioning of the drum 29 is thendetermined by balancing the weight of the drum 29 with the compressionresisting force of the sponge surface 31. The advantage of thisarrangement is that a new drum 29 can be quickly substituted for an oldone that has developed a worn sponge surface. The drum can be made fromany hard material, such as steel. The sponge covering the drum ispreferably an open cell flexible foam such as polyester or polyurethane.Other material capable of absorbing the impregnant can also be used aslong as it is compressible and resilient. An, example of a satisfactorysponge is one three-eighths inches tain good results. However, in orderto wipe, there must be some relative movement between the strand and thesurface of the sponge covered drum in contact with the strand. The drummust also rotate fast enough to present a fresh surface to the strandand avoid a saturated area in the contact zone. Operating at strandspeeds from 400 to 600 FPM, it has been found that drum rotation speedsof 4 to 18 RPM have worked satisfactorily.

The squeeze roll 33 is rotatably mounted about a fixed axis. It ispreferably driven by a conventional power source, such as an electricmotor 32, through chains, V-belts, or direct drive. lts surfaceinteraction with the sponge surface 31 of the cylinder 29 accomplishesrotation of the cylinder 29 with the result that the sponge surface 31is continually squeezed by the roll 33. The squeeze roll 33 can be madefrom any of several hard materials. An example of a satisfactorymaterial is stainless steel.

After the excess impregnant is removed from the impregnated strands 25,the strands 37 having the desired amount of impregnant are advancedthrough the curing oven 39 where the impregnant is cured to the desireddegree. The heat source in the curing oven can be supplied by anyconventional form of heat, such as gas combustion, electrically heatedelements, micro-wave energy, etc. The length of the oven is dependentupon the rate of impregnant cure and the speed of the strand passingthrough the oven. Curing of impregnants in this manner is well known inthe art. In some cases the impregnant cure is carried out at ambientconditions, and no curing oven is required.

The strand 41 with cured impregnant is advanced from the curing oven 39,over guide roller 43 and wound into a package 47. The winding isaccomplished by a commercially available standard winding apparatuscommonly used in the textile industry. The winder 52 shown schematicallyconsists of an electric motor 48 which rotates a shaft 50 upon which acollet 45 has been placed and reciprocates a traversing guide 46 backand forth along the length of the package to distribute the advancingstrand 41 as it is wound into a package 47 on the rotating collet 45.The winding apparatus also supplies the pulling force to advance thestrand through the impregnation line. The winder 52 is shown at oneposition only for illustrative purposes, but each position in the linewould have a similar winder.

Resisting the pull of the winding apparatus is the tension control 13,along with frictional forces developed where the strand contacts membersof the impregnation line. The tension control 13 is shown as a simplethree finger configuration which is designed to produce the desiredamount of drag on the strand when the strand is being pulled atoperating speed. It may be desirable to use an adjustable tensioncontroller, especially if the impregnation line is operated by varyingspeeds. Such an adjustment can be accomplished by varying the distancebetween the three fingers in the tension control 13 shown, as well asthrough use of other well known tension controllers.

FIG. 3 illustrates another feature of this invention. The impregnationline shown in FIG. 3 is the same as that shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, but ithas two sponge covered wiping drums 329 and 359. Each drum rests upon asqueeze roll 333 and 363 which turns the sponge covered wiping drum 329and 359 and squeezes removed excess impregnant 335 and 365 from thesponges 331 and 361. With the addition of the second wiping drum, it hasbeen found that the strand can be advanced through the impregnation lineat a faster speed than with only one wiping drum and still obtain thedesired impregnation removal. It is not necessary that both spongecovered drums rotate in the same direction nor at the same speed. Infact, less impregnant will be removed from the strand by the seconddrum, so it would not be necessary to rotate it as fast as the firstdrum. It should be noted that this invention also contemplates the useof more than two sponge covered wiping drums. Three or more drums couldbe used to allow faster line speed operation and better control of theamount of impregnant removed. As with the use of two wiping drums, eachdrum in a series of three or more drums can be rotated in eitherdirection and at a different speed from the other drums.

FIG. 3 also illustrates another feature of this invention. Included inthe impregnation line is a spray nozzle 350 for applying a liquid 354 tothe sponge 361 on the last drum 359. The liquid 354 is supplied througha pipe 352 under pressure. It can be pumped, or if water is used, theusual line pressure can be used for the motivating force. The functionof the liquid is to prevent the removed impregnant from drying on thesponge 361 and thereby facilitate removal of the impregnant from thesponge by the squeeze roll 363. FIG. 3 shows the liquid being squeezedout of the sponge along with the removed impregnant. If the liquid is ofa type which will contaminate the reservoir of impregnant 321, the catcharea for the removed impregnant 365 must be separated from the reservoirof impregnant 321.

FIG. 4 illustrates a further feature of this invention. The impregnationline shown in FIG. 4 is the same as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, but havingan endless sponge belt 431 rather than a sponge covered drum. The spongebelt is mounted on two spaced drums 429 and 459 which are rotatableabout parallel axes. One of the drums rests upon a squeeze roll 433 withthe sponge belt between. The squeeze roll 433 rotates the belt 431 andsqueezes the removed excess impregnant 435 from the belt. FIG. 4 showsthe squeeze roll mounted below drum 429, but it could be just as wellmounted below drum 459 in the location shown by the broken line. Thebelt 431 is shown in FIG. 4 as rotating in the same direction as thestrand movement, but it could also be rotated in the opposite direction.In fact, rotation against the strand movement might be more desirablebecause a fresh unsaturated surface of belt would be presented to thestrand as it progresses along the belt. On the other hand, betterimpregnation removal control might be obtained by keeping the strand incontact with a damp belt surface throughout the contact zone, in whichcase, rotation with the strand movement would be preferred. The natureof the impregnant and speed of strand movement would determine which ispreferable.

FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 illustrate three methods of impregnation removalpossible with this invention. The method which applies is dependent uponthe compressibility and resiliency of the sponge material and the depthto which the strand is embedded into the sponge. FIG. 5 illustrates astrand 525 embedded only slightly into the sponge 531. This arrangementwould result when the sponge is positioned so that it barely interfereswith the path of the strand. With this arrangement the sponge 531 wipesimpregnant 565 from beneath the strand 525. As the impregnant is wipedoff the strand, it is absorbed into the sponge 571 and carried away bythe moving sponge so that a fresh sponge surface is presented to theadvancing strands. After impregnant 5 is wiped from the bottom of thestrand, the remaining impregnant on and in the strand of filaments 567distributes to again cover the bottom of the strand, if the impregnantis not too viscous. In this manner, removal of excess impregnant fromall parts of the strand can be accomplished by wiping only the bottom ofthe strand.

As the strand is pulled from the package 11 shown in FIG. 1, a twist iscreated in the strand as a result of the strand being pulled from anon-rotating cylindrical package. This created twist caused the strandto rotate as it moves through the impregnation line and especially as itcomes in contact with the sponge surface 31. Thus, a greater portion ofthe strand periphery is presented to the sponge 31 as the strand passesthrough the zone of contact with the sponge 31.

FIG. 6 illustrates a strand 625 deeply embedded into the sponge 631 andcompletely surrounded by the sponge. This arrangement would result whenthe sponge is of an easily compressible material which is very resilientand the sponge is in a position which interferes substantially with thepath of the strand and the strand is pulled with sufficient tension toovercome the resilient forces of the sponge. With this arrangement, thesponge 631 wipes impregnant 669 from the complete circumference of thestrand 625 without appreciably exerting pressure on the strand so thatthe impregnant surrounding the internal filaments of the strand remainwell impregnated. The impregnant wiped from the strand 625 is absorbedin the sponge 671 and carried away by rotation of the drum so that afresh sponge surface is presented to the strand. The method of removingexcess impregnant shown in FIG. 6 allows more removal for the samestrand speed than that shown in FIG. 5. It might be desirable to utilizethe FIG. 6 method in the first sponge covered roll 331 of FIG. 3 toremove the bulk of the excess impregnant and the FIG. method in thesecond sponge covered roll 361 of FIG. 3 to make a final wipe with finercontrol. In the event the first sponge covered drum 331 is used toremove the bulk of the excess impregnant, it will be necessary to rotateit faster than the second sponge covered drum 361 to remove the largeramount of impregnant removed from the sponge. The use of either wipingmethod would be determined by the material of the sponge and the heightsetting of the squeeze roll 333 and 363. Adjustment can also be made byraising or lowering guide rolls 27 and 43 shown in FIG. 1. The tensionin the strand as it comes in contact with the sponge is also animportant factor in determining the degree to which the strand is pulledinto the sponge. Even if the strand guides are set to cause the strandpath to interfere with the sponge, the strand will only ride on top ofthe sponge unless there is sufficient tension to pull the strand intothe sponge. The tension adjustment is made at the tension controller 13of FIG. 1. The tension is adjusted to a greater amount until the desiredstrand depth in the sponge is obtained.

FIG. 7 illustrates yet another method of excess impregnant removalwithin the scope of this invention. In this figure, the strand 725 isdeeply embedded into the sponge 731 as was the case in FIG. 6, but herethe sponge does not completely surround the strand as it did in FIG. 6.This arrangement results when the sponge is of an easily compressiblematerial, but not as resilient as the material of FIG. 6 or when thestrand path and tension do not pull the strand to the same depth intothe sponge as with the method of FIG. 6. In this method, the sponge mustalso be positioned so that it will interfere substantially with the pathof the strand. With this arrangement the sponge wipes excess impregnantfrom the majority of the circumference of the strand, perhaps 270. Theremaining portion of the excess impregnant on the top of the stranddistributes to evenly coat the surface of the strand.

As with the sponge covered drum of FIG. 6, this method of excessimpregnant removal can be used in combination with the method shown inFIG. or FIG. 6. In fact, all three methods could be used in combination.For example, the first wipe could be taken by the method of FIG. 6, thesecond wipe by the method of FIG. 7, and the last wipe by the method ofFIG. 5. Other combinations could, of course, also be used.

It should be noted that impregnant removal by the apparatus of thisinvention can be accomplished in three ways. The first, as alreadystated, is wiping. The second is sucking action brought about by thecells of the sponge resiliently expanding after passing the strandcontact zone. The third method is drawing the impregnant from the strandby capillary action of the sponge cells. The second method requiresrotation of the sponge covered drum to perform, and probably, therotation must be much faster than with the other methods of impregnantremoval. The first method requires rotation of the sponge covered drumonly to present the strand with a fresh surface, as does the thirdmethod.

FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate yet another feature of this invention. FIG. 8is a cut-away view of a modified sponge covered drum, and FIG. 9 is anend view of the drum shown in FIG. 8. The drum 829 is a hollow sealedtube with sponge covering 831. On one end of the hollow shaft 875 is aremovable cap 873 which can be attached by any conventional method, suchas with threads. The hollow shaft 875 is perforated inside of the sealeddrum 829. With this arrangement, water can be poured into the end of theshaft after the cap is removed to fill the drum with water to the leveldesired. Thus, the weight g of the sponge covered drum is adjustable.Since the sponge covered drum is preferably mounted loosely above thesqueeze roll in vertical slots, the degree of sponge compression at thesqueeze roll can be adjusted by adding or subtracting water from theroll. It may be found necessary to squeeze the sponge more whenoperating at fast strand speeds in order to remove the desired amount ofabsorbed impregnant from the sponge, and with this arrangement the samesponge covered roll can be used at many different speeds by adjustingthe level of water in the drum.

Referring back to FIG. 2, a further feature of this invention isillustrated. Strand guide bar 27 can be moved back and forthhorizontally a short distance as indicated by two-headed arrow 28 tochange the path of the strand 25 across the sponge covered drum 31. Inthis way the operating life of the sponge will be extended because moresurface of the sponge will be exposed to the strand. Movement of thestrand guide bar 27 can be accomplished by a number of methods, such asa motor and cam arrangement. It is not necessary that the movement beconstant and therefore, the simplest method is periodical manualindexing of the strand guide bar 27 by the operator of the apparatus. Itshould also be noted that the same effect can be obtained by moving thesponge covered drum 31 back and forth rather than the strand guide bar.

Having described the particular embodiments of this invention, it is tobe understood that the invention is not limited to these specificembodiments, but modifications can be made without departing from thetrue scope and spirit of the invention. For example, this invention isnot limited to glass fibers, but applied to many varieties of textilefibers. Also, it can be readily seen that it is not limited to strandsin its use. Coating of monofilaments can also be accomplished. It isfurther pointed out that the impregnation of the strand can also beaccomplished by means other than dipping the strand into a bath ofimpregnant. For example, the impregnant can be sprayed onto the strandprior to the strand contacting the sponge or the impregnant can beapplied to the sponge itself whereby the strand will then pick up theimpregnant in metered quantities when contacting the strand. Having thusstated a few of the modifications within the scope of this invention.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for combining a coating material with filaments of a strandcomprising in combination:

Means for applying coating material in liquid form to said strand;

A movable member for removing any desired excess of said coatingmaterial, said member being of a resiliently compressible and absorptivematerial;

Means for moving said member;

Means for advancing said strand along a predetermined path which causessaid strand to contact said member; and

Means for establishing a predetermined tension in said strand, saidtension being sufficient to cause said strand to compress part of saidresiliently compressible and absorptive material of said member in theregion of contact to cause the exterior surface of said member tosubstantially surround said strand for removal of excess coatingmaterial during advancement of said strand.

2. Apparatus for combining a coating material with filaments of a strandaccording to claim 1 wherein said means for advancing said strand alongsaid predetermined path and means for establishing said predeterminedtension in said strand causes said strand to move below the uncompressedsurface regions of said member to cause said exterior surface of saidmember in the region of contact to completely surround said strand.

3. Apparatus for combining a coating material with filaments of a strandaccording to claim 1 including means to rotate said strand about itslongitudinal axis as it moves through said apparatus.

4. Apparatus for combining a coating material with filaments of a strandaccording to claim 1 wherein said means for applying coating material tosaid strand comprises a reservoir of coating material through which saidstrand is passed.

5. Apparatus for combining a coating material with filaments of a strandaccording to claim 4 wherein said means for moving said strand at apredetermined tension comprises a winder pulling said strand and atension controller resisting movement of said strand.

6. Apparatus for combining a coating material with filaments of a strandaccording to claim 1 wherein said member comprises a rotatable cylinder.

7. Apparatus for combining a coating material with filaments of a strandaccording to claim 1 wherein said member comprises an endless beltmounted upon a pair of spaced apart cylinders rotatable aboutsubstantially parallel axes.

8. Apparatus for combining a coating material with filaments of a strandaccording to claim 1 including means for squeezing said member toextract the excess coating material absorbed by said member.

9. Apparatus for combining a coating material with filaments of a strandaccording to claim 8 including means to apply liquid to said member todilute the excess coating material so that such material is more easilyextracted from said member.

10. Apparatus for combining a coating material with filaments of astrand according to claim 8 wherein said means for squeezing said membercomprises a rotatable cylinder in compressing relationship with saidmember.

11. Apparatus for combining a coating material with filaments of astrand according to claim 10 wherein the weight of said member providesthe required force to cause the compressing relationship between saidmember and said rotatable cylinder.

12. Apparatus for combining a coating material with filaments of astrand according to claim 11 wherein the weight of said member isadjustable 13. Apparatus for combining a coating material with filamentsof a strand according to claim 1 including means to laterally vary thepath of said strand on said member.

14. Apparatus for combining a coating material with filaments of astrand comprising in combination:

Means for applying coating material in liquid form to said strand;

A plurality of movable members for removing any desired excess of saidcoating material, each of said plurality of members being of aresiliently compressible and absorptive material;

Means for moving said members;

Means for advancing said strand along a predetermined path which causessaid strand to contact each of said members; and

Means for establishing a predetermined tension in said strand, saidtension being sufficient to cause said strand to compress part of saidresiliently compressible and absorptive material of each of said membersin the region of contact to cause the exterior surface of each of saidmembers to substantially surround said strand for removal of excesscoating material during advancement of said strand.

15. Apparatus for coating strand comprising in combination:

Means for applying coating material in liquid form to said strand;

A movable endless surface for removing excess coating material from saidstrand, said surface being of resiliently compressible and absorptivematerial and having a substantially greater thickness than the diameterof said strand;

Means for moving said surface;

Means for advancing said coated strand with sufficient tension along apath into contact with said surface to effect sufficient compression ofsaid surface in the region of contact to cause the exterior of saidsurface to substantially surround said strand for removal of excesscoating material during advancement of said strand.

1. Apparatus for combining a coating material with filaments of a strandcomprising in combination: Means for applying coating material in liquidform to said strand; A movable member for removing any desired excess ofsaid coating material, said member being of a resiliently compressibleand absorptive material; Means for moving said member; Means foradvancing said strand along a predetermined path which causes saidstrand to contact said member; and Means for establishing apredetermined tension in said strand, said tension being sufficient tocause said strand to compress part of said resiliently compressible andabsorptive material of said member in the region of contact to cause theexterior surface of said member to substantially surround said strandfor removal of excess coating material during advancement of saidstrand.
 2. Apparatus for combining a coating material with filaments ofa strand according to claim 1 wherein said means for advancing saidstrand along said predetermined path and means for establishing saidpredetermined tension in said strand causes said strand to move belowthe uncompressed surface regions of said member to cause said exteriorsurface of said member in the region of contact to completely surroundsaid strand.
 3. Apparatus for combining a coating material withfilaments of a strand according to claim 1 including means to rotatesaid strand about its longitudinal axis as it moves through saidapparatus.
 4. Apparatus for combining a coating material with filamentsof a strand according To claim 1 wherein said means for applying coatingmaterial to said strand comprises a reservoir of coating materialthrough which said strand is passed.
 5. Apparatus for combining acoating material with filaments of a strand according to claim 4 whereinsaid means for moving said strand at a predetermined tension comprises awinder pulling said strand and a tension controller resisting movementof said strand.
 6. Apparatus for combining a coating material withfilaments of a strand according to claim 1 wherein said member comprisesa rotatable cylinder.
 7. Apparatus for combining a coating material withfilaments of a strand according to claim 1 wherein said member comprisesan endless belt mounted upon a pair of spaced apart cylinders rotatableabout substantially parallel axes.
 8. Apparatus for combining a coatingmaterial with filaments of a strand according to claim 1 including meansfor squeezing said member to extract the excess coating materialabsorbed by said member.
 9. Apparatus for combining a coating materialwith filaments of a strand according to claim 8 including means to applyliquid to said member to dilute the excess coating material so that suchmaterial is more easily extracted from said member.
 10. Apparatus forcombining a coating material with filaments of a strand according toclaim 8 wherein said means for squeezing said member comprises arotatable cylinder in compressing relationship with said member. 11.Apparatus for combining a coating material with filaments of a strandaccording to claim 10 wherein the weight of said member provides therequired force to cause the compressing relationship between said memberand said rotatable cylinder.
 12. Apparatus for combining a coatingmaterial with filaments of a strand according to claim 11 wherein theweight of said member is adjustable.
 13. Apparatus for combining acoating material with filaments of a strand according to claim 1including means to laterally vary the path of said strand on saidmember.
 14. Apparatus for combining a coating material with filaments ofa strand comprising in combination: Means for applying coating materialin liquid form to said strand; A plurality of movable members forremoving any desired excess of said coating material, each of saidplurality of members being of a resiliently compressible and absorptivematerial; Means for moving said members; Means for advancing said strandalong a predetermined path which causes said strand to contact each ofsaid members; and Means for establishing a predetermined tension in saidstrand, said tension being sufficient to cause said strand to compresspart of said resiliently compressible and absorptive material of each ofsaid members in the region of contact to cause the exterior surface ofeach of said members to substantially surround said strand for removalof excess coating material during advancement of said strand. 15.Apparatus for coating strand comprising in combination: Means forapplying coating material in liquid form to said strand; A movableendless surface for removing excess coating material from said strand,said surface being of resiliently compressible and absorptive materialand having a substantially greater thickness than the diameter of saidstrand; Means for moving said surface; Means for advancing said coatedstrand with sufficient tension along a path into contact with saidsurface to effect sufficient compression of said surface in the regionof contact to cause the exterior of said surface to substantiallysurround said strand for removal of excess coating material duringadvancement of said strand.